Do-it-yourselfer Q&A.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Q. We recently bought an older house with steam heat. The original asbestos insulation has been removed from the pipes. Should we insulate the pipes, and if so, what type of insulation should we install? A lot of heat from the bare pipes is being wasted in the basement.

A. The pipes should definitely be insulated. The heat lost in the basement means the upstairs isn't getting its full quota of heat. The lost heat is also running up the operating cost of the boiler.

Fiberglass is an excellent insulator for steam pipes, which are often more than two inches in diameter. If appearance isn't too important, the simplest and least-expensive option is to buy foil-faced fiberglass wall insulation (usually R-11 or R-13). Cut the blankets into strips that overlap slightly and wrap the pipes and fittings, foil side out. Return pipes should also be insulated. Hold the insulation strips in place with pieces of thin wire, string, or high-quality duct tape or package tape (cheap duct tape will come loose).

Special molded fiberglass insulation for steam pipes is also available, but it's difficult to find. This insulation is in tube form. The tubes are slit so they can be opened and slipped over the pipes. Special covers are also made for fittings such as elbows. Unfortunately, special steam-pipe insulation isn't stocked by most home centers. Johns Manville International Inc. (1-800-334-2399), a leading insulation manufacturer, makes a tubular product called Micro-Lok that can be used on steam pipes. Call Johns Manville to find a distributor in your area.

Q. We recently moved into a 25-year-old house. We are thinking about getting new toilets but have heard new toilets often have flush problems. Can you comment?

A. Under a federal water-conservation law, toilets sold in the United States since 1994 can use only 1.6 gallons of water per flush. Prior to the new law, most toilets used 3.5 gallons of water per flush.

This water reduction can cause flushing problems, especially with toilets made soon after the law went into effect, and when flushing solid waste. Some users say they need to flush two or three times, which seems to defeat the water-saving intention of the law.